Category: setback

I saw the latest Captain America movie while family was visiting last week. Poor Cap. Without giving away the plot, let’s just say all his fancy serums, shield, and let’s face it, pretty amazing looks, did not keep him from falling on his face here and there as he saved the world. He used all his talents, but still managed to wreck half the cars in Washington, DC, suffer emotional losses, and have problems he might have avoided if he had made better decisions earlier in the movie.Thinking about the movie brought a surprising realization. When I do things like Captain America, I usually feel like a failure. If my plans don’t follow an orderly sequence, if each step does not end in an uncomplicated success, I see it as “bumbling,” even if I get the final result I wanted.Do you do the same thing? Do you assume your action-adventures are less-than-perfect if you have incidents? Even if no buildings were destroyed, or killer robots unleashed, or evil geniuses allowed to escape, do you consider a project a failure if it has a setback? Think about the super heroes and action heroes. They get parades and medals and accolades for their successes, even if by the time the movie is over, most of a planet is destroyed. Maybe reaching your goal, or learning good lessons from not reaching it, is worth a pat on the back–especially if you didn’t have to change the space-time continuum to get to where you are now.